Niagara area girl in critical condition after rottweiler attack

Police and animal control officers from the Welland and District Humane Society are on scene at a home on Effingham St. where a child was injured in a dog attack on Oct. 12, 2012. (JULIE JOCSAK/QMI AGENCY)

PELHAM, Ont. — A five-year-old girl is critically ill in hospital Friday night after she was attacked by at least one Rottweiler dog at a rural Niagara area home, police said.

Police said officials from the Welland and District Humane Society seized three Rottweilers from the Pelham, Ont., home, but investigators said they didn't yet know how many were involved in the attack.

“Too many to list. You’re dealing with large dogs and a small child," Niagara Regional Police Det. Const. Richard Gauthier said of the girl's injuries outside the family’s house, where police had set up a perimeter in front of a barn at the back of the property.

Police received a 911 call at 5:30 p.m that a young child had been mauled by dogs. Gauthier said the child was playing with puppies in the barn when adult dogs attacked her.

Gauthier said there were some beagles on the property, which are bred by the family, but they were not taken from the property.

The girl was taken to Welland County General Hospital but Gauthier said she was expected to be transported by air ambulance to Toronto’s Sick Kids.

The mailbox of the large home on a rural section of Effingham St. had a balloon tied to it, declaring “It’s a girl."

Chickens or hens were seen moving about in front of the barn as humane society officers tried to cage the dogs around 7 p.m. The loud deep growling sounds of dogs barking could be heard from the street.

Police remained on the property late into the night Friday as they investigated the attack.